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On the back of a 4-1 victory against Paldi Football Academy, Minerva Academy travelled to Mahilpur to play their second fixture in the Punjab U-21 Youth League against Principal Harbhajan SA.
Himanshu Jangra captained the side under the tutelage of Jayananda Singh as Head Coach. Minerva Academy started with a 4-3-3 formation, which they are most comfortable with as it has yielded good results for them in the past as well.
The visitors were sound in possession in the opening minutes, but as the half wore on, they weren’t able to assert their dominance in the final third. However, the first proper chance of the game fell to Minerva Academy, as midfielder Armaan Singha dispatched a shot from the right, which was well saved by the goalkeeper.
Apart from that, it wasn’t a very eventful half in terms of goalscoring chances for either side, although Minerva Academy had the lion’s share of possession. It was 0-0 at the break.
The second half began positively for Minerva Academy, as captain Himanshu Jangra was in the thick of matters. In the 55th minute, the 16-year old dashed forward in typical fashion from the left and after his cross was parried away by the goalkeeper, it hit Sadananda Singh’s head on the rebound and went over the crossbar. The following minute was almost an action replay of the aforementioned move, Jangra again rushed forward from the left and spotted Kuntal Pakhira in the box, but this time the goalkeeper latched on his cross with ease.
Minerva Academy then got an indirect free-kick inside the Principal Harbhajan box in the 58th minite. Jangra, teed up by Sadanana, struck a venemous shot which rattled the woodwork and went out.
Eventually, it was Minerva Academy’s left-footed center-back Musharaf who struck in the 68th minute. Getting the ball in midfield, he went past two approaching defenders as if they weren’t there, made room for a left foot strike and smashed it past the goalkeeper from outside the penalty area.
As Principal Harbhajan pushed for an equaliser, an opportunity opened up on the break for Minerva Academy in the dying moments of the game. Jangra was through on goal to make it 2-0, but as he dragged it onto his left, his shot went just wide of the post. It ended 1-0 to the visitors.
It was a well-deserved victory, made possible by a goal of the uptmost class. With two wins in two games, Minerva Academy march into the quarterfinals of the U-21 Youth League.
